Tag: continues

Johnson & Johnson shares will keep falling on Monday and it could be an opportune time to buy, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Friday. “I certainly wouldn’t want to commit a lot of money, but you start buying stocks like J&J when they are down another 10 percent on Monday,” the “Mad Money” host said on “Closing Bell.” “I don’t think you’re going to get hurt that bad, I think it’s going to work for you.” He also points to Costco as another buying opportunity, calling the grocery chain’s monthly numbers

Johnson & Johnson shares will keep falling on Monday and it could be an opportune time to buy, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Friday.

The stock plunged 10.4 percent to close at $133 a share on Friday after Reuters reported the company knew for decades that asbestos was in its baby powder.

“I certainly wouldn’t want to commit a lot of money, but you start buying stocks like J&J when they are down another 10 percent on Monday,” the “Mad Money” host said on “Closing Bell.” “I don’t think you’re going to get hurt that bad, I think it’s going to work for you.”

JNJ helped drag the Dow Jones Industrial Average down nearly 500 points on the day, and the stock is now down nearly 5 percent for the year. It was the worst day for JNJ since July 19, 2002.

The company called the Reuters article “one-sided, false and inflammatory” in a statement on Friday.

“Simply put, the Reuters story is an absurd conspiracy theory, in that it apparently has spanned over 40 years, orchestrated among generations of global regulators, the world’s foremost scientists and universities, leading independent labs, and J&J employees themselves,” the company said in a statement.

Reuters reporter Lisa Girion stands by her reporting, telling CNBC Friday the report was based on the company’s own documents.

“I think that the sellers of J&J aren’t done, because they didn’t do any homework and they’re just buying entirely into a Reuters story that I’m not buying into,” Cramer said, “but you have to let the sellers finish.”

He also points to Costco as another buying opportunity, calling the grocery chain’s monthly numbers in its weaker-than-expected earnings report “fine.” Shares of Costco tanked nearly 9 percent, closing at $207.06.

“Get Costco under $200, you start a position. Get J&J under $130 and start a position,” Cramer argued.

Technology stocks across the region were under pressure, including many Huawei partners and suppliers. Taiwan’s major tech names also struggled: Catcher Technology fell 9.89 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor was down 2.65 percent, Largan Precision lost 9.94 percent and iPhone assembler Hon Hai dropped 3.63 percent. “Huawei equipment is more widely used (than ZTE is) by carriers around the world, including in Europe and Africa,” they said. ZTE shares listed in Hong Kong were down 5.94 percent on the

Shares of Nikkei heavyweight SoftBank Group fell 4.93 percent. Last year, SoftBank and Huawei jointly demonstrated potential use of the next generation of high-speed mobile internet; SoftBank is taking its mobile unit public on Dec. 19.

Analysts at Jefferies pointed out that Huawei has a major global presence in various technology areas such as telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, smartphones and cloud computing. It also represents a major growth driver for many tech manufacturers.

Huawei’s Meng, who is the daughter of the company’s founder, faces extradition to the U.S., according to Canada’s Department of Justice.

While the arrest represents a new escalation in American efforts to hold Chinese companies accountable for violation of U.S. laws, it is likely to elicit an angry reaction from Beijing, according to Eurasia Group.

“The investigation of Huawei could be a prelude to further action against the firm and its senior officials,” the Eurasia Group analysts said, adding that if the U.S. places a sudden ban on Huawei equipment, like it did with ZTE, the impact would be much greater.

“Huawei equipment is more widely used (than ZTE is) by carriers around the world, including in Europe and Africa,” they said.

ZTE shares listed in Hong Kong were down 5.94 percent on the day.

Both Huawei and ZTE are restricted from selling telecoms equipment in the U.S. due to what the U.S. describes as national security concerns.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said a list of the missing would be released soon and that 100 National Guard troops would help teams already looking for remains. “We want to be able to cover as much ground as quickly as we possibly can,” he said. As authorities increased efforts, people waited for any word on those still not found. Greg Gibson was one of the people searching the message board Tuesday, hoping to find information about his neighbors. It would have been such an easy decision to st

Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said a list of the missing would be released soon and that 100 National Guard troops would help teams already looking for remains.

“We want to be able to cover as much ground as quickly as we possibly can,” he said. “This is a very difficult task.”

As authorities increased efforts, people waited for any word on those still not found.

Greg Gibson was one of the people searching the message board Tuesday, hoping to find information about his neighbors. They’ve been reported missing, but he doesn’t know if they tried to escape or hesitated a few minutes longer than he did before fleeing Paradise, the town of 27,000 which was consumed last Thursday. About 7,700 homes were destroyed.

“It happened so fast. It would have been such an easy decision to stay, but it was the wrong choice,” Gibson said from the Neighborhood Church in Chico, California.

Howard Davies, chairman of British bank RBS, told CNBC on Tuesday that the U.K. risks a slowdown to its economy if uncertainty over Brexit continues. Davies added that the bank is seeing a slowdown in the pipeline of loan applications for investment as businesses wait on the outcome of Brexit. “If you have a choice to invest or not invest in present circumstances, I think sitting on your hands looks like a prudent strategy.” But he cautioned, the chances had risen that U.K. leader Theresa May’s

Howard Davies, chairman of British bank RBS, told CNBC on Tuesday that the U.K. risks a slowdown to its economy if uncertainty over Brexit continues.

In October, the Royal Bank of Scotland said it had set aside, as an impairment provision, 100 million pounds ($128 million), in order to account for economic uncertainties – Brexit being the biggest concern for the British lender.

“If we get continued political uncertainty for some period, which is now quite possible, then I think we may see a weakening in the U.K. economy,” he told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche at the UBS European Conference.

Davies added that the bank is seeing a slowdown in the pipeline of loan applications for investment as businesses wait on the outcome of Brexit. “If you have a choice to invest or not invest in present circumstances, I think sitting on your hands looks like a prudent strategy.”

Davies said the probability of a “no-deal” Brexit, where Britain crashes out of the European Union with no trade agreement in place, had not increased in his view.

But he cautioned, the chances had risen that U.K. leader Theresa May’s proposal, known as the “Chequers plan,” would likely fail the test of fellow lawmakers. The RBS chairman said a prepackaged deal was starting to look like an option.

“Some kind of continued customs union but nothing special for the U.K., or as people are taling about a potential Norway option,” he said.

Davies said Theresa May was sticking fast to her plan as she was likely receiving a lot of advice to say that a no deal Brexit “really could be a mess.”

“I’d be very surprised any prime minister, however ‘Brexit-enthusiastic’ they may be, faced with that advice would say well you know what you can say that, but I’m just going to go for it.”

Brussels and Rome are in a constant back and forth over budget negotiations but analysts told CNBC that it is the markets that matter the most. Officials from the European Union (EU) and Italy have found themselves in a deadlock after the former’s economic forecasts showed the Italian economy would grow at a slower pace in the next two years than Rome thinks. The Italian government was quick to dismiss, blaming the EU for its “inadequate and partial” analysis of the country’s spending plans. On

Brussels and Rome are in a constant back and forth over budget negotiations but analysts told CNBC that it is the markets that matter the most.

Officials from the European Union (EU) and Italy have found themselves in a deadlock after the former’s economic forecasts showed the Italian economy would grow at a slower pace in the next two years than Rome thinks.

The Italian government was quick to dismiss, blaming the EU for its “inadequate and partial” analysis of the country’s spending plans.

These comments came after Brussels said earlier on the day that Italy’s 2019 deficit will reach 2.9 percent and not 2.4 percent as Rome insists. Both sides have clashed over Italy’s 2019 budget plans after the anti-establishment government promised to increase spending, challenging European fiscal rules.

On Friday, Italy’s Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said Brussels’ proposed deficit cuts would be “suicide” for the country’s economy. The unyielding stance from Rome triggered a rise in the yield spread between German and Italian debt, a common measure of risk for European investors.

Analysts told CNBC the standoff looks set to continue, and that the EU is laying the ground to open the process that could eventually lead to sanctions — though no EU country has ever been fined for breaching spending limits.

But, the big question in front of investors is how the markets will react to this noise.

“Continued pressure from the EU, further ratings downgrades and even higher risk spreads will force Rome to soften its policies by just enough in coming months to stave off an immediate debt crisis,” Florian Hense, economist at Berenberg told CNBC Friday in an email.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer wants investors to be prepared for the week ahead after days of news-driven swings in the stock market. “This market punishes you for having too much conviction,” the “Mad Money” host said on Friday. Shortly thereafter, Trump’s chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, refuted that story on CNBC, sending the market lower. “I’m just surprised we didn’t go down even more, especially since Apple’s stock got eviscerated … even though the company reported an upside surprise.” With tha

CNBC’s Jim Cramer wants investors to be prepared for the week ahead after days of news-driven swings in the stock market.

“This market punishes you for having too much conviction,” the “Mad Money” host said on Friday. “When we get too negative, we’re blindsided by positive developments. When we get too optimistic, we get hit with days like today. I bet next week gives us more of the same.”

Cramer pointed to some recent intraday swings: on Friday, stocks opened higher after a report saying President Donald Trump had requested his cabinet members to prepare for a trade deal with China.

Shortly thereafter, Trump’s chief economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, refuted that story on CNBC, sending the market lower. Then, Trump reiterated his optimism and stocks started climbing again, at least until a positive employment report seemingly renewed the need for the Federal Reserve to combat inflation with more interest rate hikes.

“It was all very confusing,” Cramer said. “I’m just surprised we didn’t go down even more, especially since Apple’s stock got eviscerated … even though the company reported an upside surprise.”

But even though shares of Apple continued their slide on Friday, the “Mad Money” host stood by the stock, saying that Apple will be “buying back boatloads of its stock next week” and advising investors to “join in.”

Saudi Arabia is trying to drown out the noise surrounding journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death by hailing multibillion-dollar business deals for its energy and infrastructure sectors at an investment forum in Riyadh this week. Many of the deals announced involve Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco. On Tuesday, the company said it had signed 15 memorandums of understanding (or MOUs, an agreement to engage in a commercial partnership, in principle) and commercial collaborations worth $34 b

Saudi Arabia is trying to drown out the noise surrounding journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death by hailing multibillion-dollar business deals for its energy and infrastructure sectors at an investment forum in Riyadh this week.

Major deals worth over $55 billion in the energy, transportation and petrochemical sectors were announced on Tuesday, the first day of the Future Investment Initiative (FII), a forum that’s designed to attract business to the country — not an easy task when high-profile business leaders are boycotting the event this year.

Many of the deals announced involve Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Saudi Aramco. On Tuesday, the company said it had signed 15 memorandums of understanding (or MOUs, an agreement to engage in a commercial partnership, in principle) and commercial collaborations worth $34 billion. The deals involved international partners and entities including Total, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and Chinese firm Norinco.

“The MOUs reflect both Saudi Aramco’s and the Kingdom’s international partnership strategies and the determination to diversify the economy, enhance the domestic investment environment and boost employment opportunities,” Saudi Aramco said in a statement Tuesday.

Brendan Iribe, the former CEO and co-founder of Oculus, announced on Monday that he would be leaving Facebook, making him the latest founder of a notable start-up acquired by the company to depart. Iribe joined Facebook when the company acquired Oculus, a virtual reality company, in 2014 for $2 billion. Iribe is not the only notable Oculus co-founder to have left the company. Fellow co-founder Palmer Luckey left Facebook in 2016 amid controversy surrounding his political contributions and financ

Brendan Iribe, the former CEO and co-founder of Oculus, announced on Monday that he would be leaving Facebook, making him the latest founder of a notable start-up acquired by the company to depart.

“I’d like to sincerely thank everyone that’s been a part of this amazing journey, especially Mark [Zuckerberg] for believing in this team and the future of VR and AR,” Iribe said in a Facebook post.

Facebook has seen the exits of Instagram Co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in September and WhatsApp Co-founder Jan Koum in April as it has dealt with a series of scandals over the security and privacy of user data as well as the spread of misinformation on the company’s services.

Iribe joined Facebook when the company acquired Oculus, a virtual reality company, in 2014 for $2 billion. Since then, Oculus has failed to gain mainstream adoption, but Facebook has continued to develop new versions of the company’s hardware, most recently announcing the $399 Oculus Quest. Iribe was CEO of Oculus until he was demoted from the role in late 2016.

Iribe is not the only notable Oculus co-founder to have left the company. Fellow co-founder Palmer Luckey left Facebook in 2016 amid controversy surrounding his political contributions and financial support of far-right groups and internet trolls.

“Selling Oculus to Facebook was the best thing that ever happened to the VR industry even if it wasn’t super great for me,” Luckey said earlier this month.

Tensions between Zuckerberg and his acquired start-up co-founders have reportedly been growing over the past year as the company deals with scandal after scandal. Speaking last week, Instagram’s Systrom said “no one ever leaves a job because everything’s awesome.”

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of McDonald’s to outperform from in line on Monday, saying the company is well-positioned to ride out the trade war between the U.S. and China. “[McDonald’s] is the most defensive restaurant stock, it has less exposure to emerging economies, and the stock will likely outperform should equity volatility related to trade persist,” Evercore analyst Matt McGinley said in a note. McDonald’s shares rose 0.4 percent Monday morning. McDonald’s stock outperformed the S&P 500

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of McDonald’s to outperform from in line on Monday, saying the company is well-positioned to ride out the trade war between the U.S. and China.

“[McDonald’s] is the most defensive restaurant stock, it has less exposure to emerging economies, and the stock will likely outperform should equity volatility related to trade persist,” Evercore analyst Matt McGinley said in a note.

McDonald’s shares rose 0.4 percent Monday morning.

McGinley noted that McDonald’s rode out the previous global recession well, thanks to the company’s defensive position. McDonald’s stock outperformed the S&P 500 index by 82 percent and the company continued to grow its operating profit, according to the analyst. The global fast-food chain has only become more defensive over the last decade, according to McGinley. While McDonald’s was 20 percent company-owned during the last global recession, it is now only 7 percent company-owned today.

Compared with the rest of the restaurant industry, McDonald’s economies of scale is of “increasing importance amid labor inflation, remodel investment, and a higher promotional cadence.” As those shifts in the industry happen, McGinley said, restaurant chains will need “greater sophistication to plan, execute, and evolve.”

Evercore does not have a price target on shares of McDonald’s but does have a “base case” of $185 a share.